Mackenzie Dern, widely regarded as one of the very best female Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes in the world, will make her mixed martial arts debut with Legacy FC, it has been announced.
Dern’s MMA debut will take place on July 22nd in Dallas, Texas in the 115lb strawweight division. An opponent has not yet been announced.
“I hope I can represent jiu-jitsu well and put on a good performance,” Dern told MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz. “Of course, I will try to be aggressive, but it’s my first fight, so I will still feel everything, see what I have to improve.”
Dern is currently ranked as the world’s top female BJJ black belt competitor by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). She won in her division at both the 2015 IBJJF World Championships and 2015 ADCC event.
The BJJ black belt is currently training at The MMA Lab – home of former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson – for her upcoming MMA debut.